Chapter Four Hundred and Three

Joey blushed the next morning when she entered the restaurant's kitchen, relieved that they had at least wiped the surfaces down at the time. All she would need would be Angelo to arrive eager and early and she would be the colour of beetroot for the rest of the day. But damn, it had been hot. She allowed herself a small smile as she left the kitchen and looked at the bar, imagining all the things she and Charlie could get up to on that.


"Okay, Lucas, we'll see you soon," Rachel said, smiling as she hung up the phone.

On Leah's advice, she had convinced Tony's son to come and visit and hopefully convince him that moving to Boston was a good idea. It would mean that they would be closer to each other and would actually get to spend time together on occasion.

"How are you going to see Lucas?" Tony asked from behind her.

He had let himself into the house to get some more clothes, having run out at Gina's. Rachel whirled out, clutching her mobile guiltily.

"Um…"

"What's the hell is going on now, Rachel?" he demanded.


Romeo arrived at the restaurant as soon as it opened and chose to ignore Joey's frowns that he was supposed to be in school.

"I need advice," he said.

She had to admit that he sounded rather desperate. Gesturing for him to take a stool, she leant against the bar, offering her rapt attention.

"Indi and I have been talking about… you know…"

Joey looked puzzled and informed him that she required a few more details.

"You know… you know!" he said awkwardly, turning as red as she had supposed she would turn if anyone had found out about her after hours spectacular with Charlie the night before.

"Not following you," she lied.

She knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Joey!" he begged. "I'm talking about it. You know!"

She relented with a laugh.

"Okay, you're talking about sex," she agreed. "What about it?"

She smiled at a couple more memories from the night before.

"Well, Indi and I have been talking about… well, taking that step and… and I'm terrified," Romeo admitted.

"What are you terrified of, specifically?" Joey asked, wanting to know exactly what she was dealing with before she dispensed the wisdom everyone seemed to think she had.

"What if I do it wrong?" he asked quietly.

"Has it been that long?" she asked.

He looked stricken.

"It's been never," she realised.

He looked mortified but relieved that at least he hadn't had to say the words himself.

"She's going to laugh at me, isn't she?" he fretted.


"I don't need an intervention, Rach!" Tony insisted. "And I don't need you going behind my back and contacting the son that couldn't even be bothered to come here when his own brother died!"

He was surprised by his own bitterness. He'd always thought he understood and accepted why Lucas hadn't visited when he had eventually been located and told about Jack's death. But deep down, he had been hurt. And it felt more wrong than ever to be closer to his living son when Summer Bay was the place his dead son was buried. How could he just leave him like that?

"It's not an intervention," Rachel lied. "I just want to open your mind a bit to this move and I can't do that by myself."

"Why can't you just accept that I don't want to go?" he yelled, pronouncing each word deliberately.

Then he stormed back out the way he had come.


"She's not going to laugh at you," Joey insisted.

She had taken Romeo to a corner table so that they could talk things through properly, leaving Angelo tending the bar.

"I'm a virgin and I call myself Romeo," he pointed out sourly.

"Okay, that bit might be a bit funny," Joey admitted. "But there's nothing wrong with waiting for the right person."

"When did you lose yours?" Romeo asked.

"When I was a teenager," Joey said. "Most of my friends lost it before I did but I waited until I thought I'd found someone special. It didn't work out and it doesn't compare to what I have with Charlie but it meant something to me."

"What if I just pretend that I've slept with loads of girls?" he asked hopefully.

Joey chuckled and touched his hand.

"I don't think going into this based on lies is the right path," she told him. "The great thing about you and Indi, which was the same with Charlie and I, is that you were friends first. It makes it so much easier to communicate and be honest with each other, to talk things through. I really think you should tell her."

"But what if she thinks I'm weird?" Romeo fretted.

"I likelihood is that she'll be touched that you love her that much and trust her that much that you waited for her," Joey insisted. "It'll make your feelings even clearer than they already are."


Marilyn was a little disappointed. She had been all set to go on a date with Sid when he had sent Dex round to say that he was stuck at work and would be running late.

"I could always keep you company if you like," Dex offered.

She smiled, thinking that he was a sweet boy who was making a very special effort with his father's girlfriend.

"That would be nice," she decided. "Although, shouldn't you be in school?"

"I have a couple of free periods this morning," Dex told her.

"Then shouldn't you be studying?"

"Well, I'm basically a genius so I don't think it'll matter all that much if I miss a couple of hours," she said.

She chuckled. He didn't sound arrogant, just like he was stating a fact. She had to admit to finding him rather charming.


Indi came to the restaurant on her lunch break and immediately sought out Joey.

"What's up?" Joey asked, silently wondering if Romeo had spoken to her yet.

"Is there a particular wine you could recommend?"

"For your lunch break?" Joey remarked. "No."

Indi laughed, a little embarrassed.

"Romeo and I have a really important date tonight," she explained.

Joey resisted telling her she already knew about it.

"And I just wanted to do something a bit special, you know? But I don't exactly know where to start."

Joey nodded and pulled out the restaurant's wine list.

"Red, white or rose?" she asked.

"Um… well, I like rose but I'm not exactly a wine connoisseur," Indi said.

Joey grinned and admitted that she wasn't either but that Charlie had taught her a little bit.

"I'd suggest this one," she said, pointing to a Gallo white zinfandel. "I don't know how posh it is exactly but I really like it."

Indi nodded and asked her to put a bottle aside for her to collect it after school.

"Will do!" Joey promised.

Indi left, passing Charlie on her way.

"What will you do?" the police officer wondered, leaning over the bar to kiss her.

"I appear to be essential in Romeo and Indi's plans to sleep together," Joey explained.

Charlie looked puzzled.

"Don't ask," Joey advised. "But do stay for your lunch break and spend it with me."

Charlie grinned happily.

"I'd love to," she said.


On the beach, Penn was pleased to see Nicole sitting all alone and gazing out at the horizon. She looked like the weight of the world was on her shoulders and although it had taken a while to finally get her in the right place at the right time, he decided that now was his moment. Clutching the hypodermic needle carefully in his hand, he approached and came to sit beside her, careful and inconspicuously burying it next to her hand.

"I owe you an apology," he said, studying her pretty face.

"Yep," Nicole replied, refusing to look at him.

"The thing is that I'm a fractured person, Nicole," he explained, remaining close beside her. "My mother killed herself when I was young and I was the person to find her body. It scarred me and it damaged me. And I try so hard to get over it and to be a good man but I panic when things get tough. I panic, I push everyone away and I run. But the thing is that I can't cope without you."

He kept his face impassive but was pleased when she looked startled and hopeful at him.

"I miss you," he continued. "I feel bad for pushing you away like I did and I want us to try again. Wipe the slate clean."

Nicole shifted. He knew she was about to say yes but she yelped instead. The needle had successfully pricked her hand.


"So, are you meeting with the council this afternoon?" Charlie asked as she and Joey tucked into their lunch at the same, cosy, corner table Romeo had made his confession at.

"Yep," Joey said.

She had ploughed ahead with her plans to get a lift installed so that people like their neighbour, Kerri could get up and down without a problem. As usual, she had gone at it full throttle and had all sorts of diagrams and illustrations.

"Well, I managed to wangle a couple of hours off work if you wanted me to go with you," Charlie offered.

"Seriously?" Joey asked excitedly.

"Only if you want me to," Charlie said quickly. "I don't want to rain on your parade or anything."

Joey reached out and held her hand, looking into her eyes.

"This is our restaurant, Charlie," she reminded her. "We're in this together. I'd love you to come with me. I'd really appreciate it."

Charlie lifted Joey's hand and kissed it. She felt closer to her girlfriend than ever.


"I don't think he's coming," Marilyn said glumly.

She and Dex had packed a picnic and gone out to the park to wait for Sid.

"You did text him, didn't you?" she checked.

"Of course I did," Dex lied.


Joey took a deep breath and stood up in front of the council members. It still surprised her that the friendliest face in the group was John Palmer, a man who had once deliberately lost her the job on Irene's trawler because she had refused to be bullied into voting for him. But it was thanks to him that she and Charlie had found the right location for the restaurant and since being with Gina, even Joey had to admit he was nicer.

"Hi, everyone," she said shyly, glad that Charlie was sitting close by. "And thank you for meeting with me. I um… well, I had a proposal for putting a lift into the Surf Club so that disabled people can get up to the restaurant?"

"Are you that desperate for business?" one man joked.

John was quick to silence him.

"It's just that I've become aware that there are people in this town who would struggle with stairs," Joey explained. "My next door neighbour, she's in a wheelchair and that means that my restaurant and indeed plenty of buildings all over town are completely inaccessible and it's not fair. And she and people like her may or may not want come to eat at Buckton's but I think it's only fair that they have the choice. And right now, they don't."

She took another breath, nervous of the council's rapt attention.

"I would fund the lift myself, of course," she continued. "I still have money left from my loan to cover it and my payments are completely intact. I've spoken to a building company, the people who work on my apartment building and they believe they can get the job done in three days so it wouldn't cause that much trouble to the Surf Club itself."

She referred to the flip chart she had put together.

"Um… what do you think?"


Romeo and Indi met up after school and sat on the edge of the wharf, dangling their feet into the water.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Indi wondered. "Have you um… changed your mind about tonight?"

"No!" Romeo said quickly. "No, definitely not. But uh… there's some stuff I need to tell you."

Indi silently panicked, fretting about diseases that her boyfriend might have picked up along the way. His name was Romeo after all.

"I'm a virgin," he blurted out.

Indi just stared at him, her eyes rather wide.

"Sorry, did you say…?"

"I'm a virgin," he repeated. "I… I never trusted anyone like I trust you…"

"Not even Annie?" she asked, almost keeping long term anxiety out of her voice.

"I did trust her," Romeo admitted. "But it wasn't a long term thing with her. It never got that far. I wouldn't have wanted to be with someone unless I thought there was a future with them."

Indi smiled.

"And you see a future with me?" she asked.

"Yes," he said, nodding. "I love you, Indi. I want this to be a long term thing. I trust you and I… I think you're the person I've been waiting for."

Touched, she leant in and kissed him.


Charlie and Joey left the meeting absolutely thrilled. The council had agreed to let Joey install the lift. Both women were eager to get things going. Suddenly, everything in their world seemed to be going perfectly.


Next time… Charlie and Joey christen their new car, Ruby feels alone and Penn rushes Nicole to the hospital…